Use Your Own Artwork

We knew you had a creative side. And we’re thrilled you want to share the original artwork -- crest, logo, picture, font -- you created with those most special to you via our paper. The good news is we can turn any of the above into stationery, note cards and invitations. The even better news
is you can do it all electronically.

First Things First

You found your new favorite piece of stationery/note card/invitation online (we knew you would), followed all the steps to order said favorite stationery and added a comment letting us know you’ll be sending along your own artwork (you overachiever, you). Now, all you need to know is how to
do it.

Note: Ordering online isn’t for everyone. If you’d rather talk to one of our lovely customer service representatives, feel free to do so by ringing 1-800-268-2281. They’ll be happy to provide you with all the info you’ll need.

Submitting Artwork

Just a few details (along with the artwork, of course) you’ll need to send our way to make sure your order is perfect: Customer name, order number and contact info (don’t worry, it isn’t for sharing, just for questions if we have them). Email the whole enchilada to
customerservice@crane.com.

You can also get your artwork – an art slick or even a mock-up, for example -- to us the old fashioned way: by mail, with your written order (don’t worry, you’ll get it back). Just send a customer name, order number and contact info to:

Crane Direct1466 Curran HighwayNorth Adams, MA 01247

Acceptable File Formats

Of course, the most important item you’ll be providing us with is your artwork. We can’t wait to see it, so to make sure we do, please take a look at the software packages and file extensions we support (note: .eps is our favorite file extension, as it can be exported from any of the packages
below). And yes, we’re bilingual: We speak both Macintosh and PC.

Not-So Favorite Files

We love .jpg, .bmp, .doc and .psd when we’re emailing friends or looking at funny cat pictures, but for paper printing, they just don’t have that je ne sais quoi.

If you have artwork you simply adore in the aforementioned file formats, however, please make sure they are high resolution (at least 1200 dpi) and in black and white format. We’ll most likely have to make changes to the artwork, and because fonts in Word and Quark documents differ, please email
us a clear copy of the artwork with your order.

Finally, if you’re sending us a .pdf, please make sure that all fonts are embedded.

We know, it’s a lot to think about, but we just want everything to be absolutely perfect.

Multi-Color Artwork

Who doesn’t adore rainbows? We welcome your colorful artwork, just make sure it’s in an .eps vector file format [CMYK spot] – same goes for black and white artwork – that was created/developed in Adobe Illustrator. Color artwork that’s a .pdf or .tif requires color separation, and
there’s a charge for that, just so you know. Make sure you specify Crane ink colors. As for PMS matches, they’re $150 per color, and please use the “U” version.

Include Fonts

If you created your artwork in Quark, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw, Corel PhotoPaint or as a .pdf, please include the font or fonts.

Extra Art Charges

We know how personal art is (just ask us about the macaroni necklace we made in 2nd grade), so we would never want to mar your masterpiece. But, with so many different images, in so many differing clarities and details, we like to inspect each and every one to make sure it will look stunning
on paper. (Our macaroni necklace, for example, would not.)

That said, if we need to re-work your image so it looks its most fabulous, we’ll let you know. It’ll cost a little extra to do so, too, so we’ll let you know that, too. We also suggest proofs ($20 for the first proof, $15 for each additional proof) before declaring yay, or nay.

Digital Photography

Submitting Your Photo

You’ve already done the hard part – taking a photo worthy of commemorating on paper – now all you have to do is hit ‘send.’ Oh, but first make sure your image is a .tif or .jpg, and that its resolution is at least 300 dpi. Now you’re ready to hit ‘send’: Please send all digital photos
as an attachment to customerservice@crane.com, and make sure you include a customer name, order number and contact info (don’t worry, it isn’t for sharing, just for questions if we have them) so we can match your photo to your order fax.

You can also get photos to us the old fashioned way: by mail, with your written order (don’t worry, you’ll get it back when we mail you your order). But please don’t send negatives: we’re not that old fashioned.

If you’d like us to print a color photo in black and white or Sepia, be sure to let us know.

Photo Usage Rights

Like mom always says, always give credit where credit is due. That means if you’re using a photo by a professional photographer, please get authorization from them to use it. Once it’s in our hands, we trust you’ve already been given the a-okay.

Artwork Services

We don’t mean to toot our own horn, but we’re oh-so proud of our oh-so talented staff of artists, who are here to help you create the perfect design, whether it’s just a little touchup or turning a rough idea into an image you’ll want to wallpaper your entire house in. Okay, maybe just the powder
room.

Useable Artwork

As much as we’d love to sketch all day, there’s quite a bit to do here. So we are particularly enamored with those who send us artwork that can skip the Art Department and go right into the scanner. Receiving unusable artwork means spending time making it usable -- which means more time anxiously
awaiting your order (and more money that you could be spending on Crane & Co. paper products).

Below we’ve created a handy list of what your artwork should (and shouldn’t) strive to be. Because we all need goals, right?

What Useable Artwork Is

Sharp, flat black and white artwork produced on paper or photographic paper

Graphics and text are in position and proportionally sized to the paper stock on which

Any alterations to the artwork have been made with opaque ink, concealing all color beneath it.